Seo Kang-joon is one of the well-known celebrities in the South Korean film industry. He started his career in 2012 by appearing in a couple of episodes of ‘To the Beautiful You’ which was aired on SBS network. He continued to appear in several minor roles until landing his first major role as a supporting actor in the 2013 TV series ‘The Suspicious Housekeeper.’ He then starred in a romantic comedy series titled ‘Cunning Single Lady’ and received a lot of positive reviews for his work in the same. His role in the series also got him an award at the 7th Korea Drama Awards. In 2016, he achieved major success when he starred in a series titled ‘Cheese in the Trap.’ He played the role of a pianist in the series. He has also appeared in a few music videos and serves as a singer in a band called ‘5urprise,’ which he joined in 2013. Seo is a talented pianist too, and has been playing the instrument since his childhood.

Seo was born Lee Seung-Hwan in Gunpo, Gyeonggi Province of South Korea on October 12, 1993. ‘Lee’ is his family name. He was raised along with his older sister.

He is of South Asian ethnicity. When he disclosed his dream of becoming an actor, his parents did not oppose, but he had to take up part-time jobs in order to take care of his expenses as he was not given any money by his parents.

The only help that he got from his parents was that they allowed him to sleep in their house. But Seo later realized that his parents’ intentions were always good.

When he was eight, he started learning piano, and continued doing that for the next seven years. At 17, he was sent to study at Ipoh International School of Malaysia for 17 months.

He says that his parents had coaxed him to learn piano and study abroad, but he is thankful to them for letting him have some amazing experiences.

Seo debuted in the entertainment industry as a singer in 2013 when he joined a band called ‘5urprise.’ He was the leader of a 5-men-idol group.

Unlike other music bands, ‘5urprise’ made its debut through a mobile drama titled ‘After School: Lucky or Not.’ The band released its single ‘Hey You Come On’ which was a part of the soundtrack of the series.

Before making his debut with the band, Seo had appeared in the music videos of bands and artists like ‘Hello Venus’ and Ailee. He had also appeared as a student in the third and seventh episode of SBS’ ‘To the Beautiful You.’ He then appeared as a guest in KBS2’s ‘Good Doctor’ in 2013.

His acting skills were first recognized when he played an important character in SBS’ ‘The Suspicious Housekeeper.’ The series narrated the story of a housekeeper who is suspected to be a murderer.

He got his breakthrough role in 2014 when he played a crucial role in the romantic series ‘Cunning Single Lady.’ In the series, he co-starred with Lee Min-jung. He also appeared in the South Korean TV series ‘What Happens to My Family?’

He then appeared in a romantic flick titled ‘My Love, My Bride’ which was a remake of the 1990’s hit of the same name. Though the movie went on to become a hit, Seo was only offered a minor role in the film.

He then appeared in SBS network’s variety show ‘Roommate.’ It was a reality show in which 11 celebrities had to live together in the same house. He was one of the housemates in the show.

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In 2015, he appeared in MBC network’s ‘Splendid Politics.’ His next venture was as a cast member in a television series titled ‘To Be Continued.’

In 2016, he finally got a major role when he played a pianist in ‘Cheese in the Trap.’ It was a series based on a webtoon of the same name. His performance in the series earned him fame and a couple of awards as well.

2016 turned out to be a good year for Seo as he appeared in the Korean adaptation of the hit American black comedy series, ‘Entourage.’ The television series failed commercially, but it provided Seo with various other acting opportunities which helped him to establish his career.

He then worked in another reality show titled ‘Law of the Jungle in Tonga’ which was aired on SBS. He also made cameo appearances in the seventh and eighth episode of SBS’ ‘Entertainer.’

He was roped in to play the character of Nam Shin who goes into coma after an accident in KBS2’s series ‘Are You Human Too?’

Seo won his first award under the category ‘Best New Actor’ for ‘Cunning Single Lady’ at the 7th Korea Drama Awards in 2014. He also received nominations under the same category at the 16th Seoul International Youth Film Festival and at MBC Drama Awards.

He received a nomination under the category ‘Best New Actor’ for his role in ‘What Happens to My Family?’ at KBS Drama Awards. He received another nomination for his performance in ‘Roommate’ at the 2014 SBS Entertainment Awards.

In 2015, he won the ‘Hot Star Award’ for ‘Splendid Politics’ at the 8th Korea Drama Awards. He also got nominated under the category ‘Excellence Award, Actor’ for his performance in the series.

In 2016, he received a nomination under the category ‘Made in tvN, Actor in Drama’ for his performance in ‘Cheese in the Trap.’ He also won the ‘Best Entertainer Award’ at the 1st Asia Artist Awards.